We continue PBT’s 2016-17 NBA preview series, 51 Questions. For the past few weeks, and through the start of the NBA season, we tackle 51 questions we cannot wait to see answered during the upcoming NBA season. We will delve into one almost every day between now and the start of the season. Today:

“They’re definitely going to be exciting, but I don’t see them being a contender for a while. I mean, they’ve still got to go up against Golden State in the West, they’ve got to go up against OKC, still got to go up against Cleveland, the Rockets. So they have a long way to go to be a contender.Every now and then they’ll make some noise and get the people in the Staples Center excited.”

The Lakers have a young core with a lot of promise. D'Angelo Russell will take a step forward next season off a rookie campaign where he averaged 13.2 points per game and 3.3 assists per game, shot 35.1 percent from three, and had a PER of 13.2. More importantly, he improved over the course of the season — his PER for the month of February was 18.8.

Russell played in Summer League last July in large part to develop chemistry with Brandon Ingram, the Lakers new No. 2 pick. The lanky forward flashed the skills — good handles, face-up shooting game, smooth stroke — that intrigued the Lakers and made him the clear choice for them in the draft. He just needs to polish those skills and get stronger.

Then there is Jordan Clarkson, the combo guard playing the two who is working on the skills to play that role (he needs a more consistent jumper, for example). He gives the Lakers another ball handler and options for initiating the offense. After him, the Lakers have Larry Nance Jr. — a guy other coaches regularly bring up when talking about the Lakers’ core — and Julius Randle, two quality young forwards who have shown flashes of potential. Randle, in particular, has the athleticism to be a quality four in the NBA if he can develop his shot and his off-hand.

Put them all together with a young coach who the young players relate to and who wants to play up-tempo in Luke Walton, and there is real potential. The Lakers have hope for the future. It’s going to take a couple of years to develop into the kind of foundational core that will win enough games to think playoffs — and, more importantly, lure top free agents — but you can see that path in front of the Lakers. A good goal for the Lakers this season is to win more than 30 games, which is a leap from the franchise low of 17 a year ago. Then in two seasons they be in the mix for one of the final playoff spots in the West. It’s like what happened in Boston, where it took a few years for their solid young core and quality coach to win enough that a free agent such as Al Horford would jump on board.

The fear is that push forces Buss to make decisions thinking only about wins and the short term. He wouldn’t be the first NBA executive to make poor long-term decisions to save his job in the short run.

Buss seemed to think rebuilding the Lakers would be easier and quicker than it is, that free agents would just flock to the team because of the brand and because of the city. That’s not the way the modern NBA works. The reality was clear this summer: The Lakers couldn’t even get a courtesy meeting with free agent Kevin Durant. The age of social media and the current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement have changed the dynamic for big market teams, lessening their advantages with free agents. The Lakers can’t just skim off the cream of the crop and rebuild on the fly anymore. Players will go where the money is regardless of market, and they will go where they will win.

The Lakers are a few years away from being one of those teams.

There are multiple pressures on the Lakers to win sooner rather than later. There is Jim Buss’ deadline — he’d like to keep his job, but that means winning. There is the pressure to fill the seats on game nights and keep team sponsors in a post-Kobe Bryant era. And there are the local television ratings, which have slipped the past couple of seasons — and part of that massive Lakers’ rights deal with Time Warner Cable is ratings based (as ratings slip, the Lakers get less money).

On top of all that Lakers fans, spoiled by decades of success, are not always the most patient and understanding of fan bases. To put it kindly.

Could all of those pressures lead to rash decisions? Trades that short circuit the future in hopes of a few more wins now?

Possibly.

But not likely.

Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak are Lakers’ lifers — even if Buss gave up his power he’d still have a large ownership stake in the team — and they certainly see the potential for these Lakers. They are smart, they see the path in front of the team, and they know that the climb to the top is gradual. Of course, if a “Godfather” trade falls in their lap (one they can’t refuse) then they take it, but that is highly unlikely in today’s NBA climate. Maybe some big names become available later this season or into next summer, but the Lakers shouldn’t give away too much of a promising young core to get a DeMarcus Cousins (not currently available) or someone of that ilk. It’s that young core that would make a top player want to stay with the Lakers in the first place, or for a free agent to come to L.A.

The Lakers are on a path that could lead to a return to the upper echelons of the NBA, but it’s going to take years. It’s going to take patience, both from fans and management. They can’t let a combination of pride and pressure force them off that path for a quick fix and a couple of extra wins.

Statistically, D'Angelo Russell had a quality rookie season: 13.2 points per game, 3.3 assists per game, shot 35.1 percent from three, had a PER of 13.2. He was NBA All-Rookie second team, and he improved over the course of the season — his PER for the month of February was 18.8. Point guard is the hardest position to learn at the NBA level and Russell’s rookie numbers, especially during the last couple months, compare well with top point guards in the game now such as Damian Lillard, John Wall, even Kyrie Irving when they were rookies.

But then there were the downsides to Russell’s rookie season: Clashes with his coach, an ego big enough to trouble Lakers staff, and the video incident with Nick Young.

“It was bad. It wasn’t the best rookie year. But, I had some big learning experience from it and coming into this year — I’m beyond excited.”

Russell looked like he had learned a lot while playing in Summer League for the Lakers where he averaged 21.8 points and 4 assists per game. He started to find some chemistry with just-drafted Brandon Ingram. He can lead a young Laker core that includes Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr.

As he has before, Russell praised new Laker coach Luke Walton, who told the young guard not to be afraid to shoot.

“He wants me to shoot the ball when I’m open. When a coach tells you to shoot the ball, it’s like a green light for you. You can’t want that more than anything. But the catch is you got to be good enough to know that when you’re not open, you gotta pass. That’s the responsibility he’s thrown at me and everybody.”

If Russell has taken these lessons to heart and listens to his new coach, Lakers fans should be optimistic about the future.

The Philadelphia Eagles are an unstoppable football force. At least when they play the Browns.

Philadelphia won its opener 29-10 Sunday at home, and on hand for the festivities were the two Sixers big men who will take the court in a few weeks, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid posted a picture of the pair hanging with Swoop — notice Embiid’s Swoop hat.